A 69-Year-Old Lady Put Under Investigation for Winning the Lottery So Many Times 

Imagine a situation where you witness lottery results being updated as they happen, and after confirming you’re the winner, you are put under investigation. This is what happened to Amelia Barnham, a 69-year-old lady from the UK who won the lottery more than 600 times. Currently, her accumulated winnings stand at £23,600, and she has been put under investigation following her recent win of £800 on a £1 HotPicks ticket. 

According to reports, Amelia, a finance worker, spends £60 a week on lotto tickets and has accumulated these winnings over several years. She now says she has been made to feel like a criminal after Allwyn Entertainment Ltd, the National Lottery’s new operator, sent an ex-detective to her house to investigate her. 

Amelia claims that the investigator took photographs of her passport and required her to produce bank statements, a situation that left her feeling uneasy and upset. 

Amelia Warns Other Players Not to Buy Lottery Tickets 

Amelia’s latest win took place in February, and despite trying to claim it, she has yet to receive her money. When she visited the Post Office to collect her money, she was told to go back to Tesco, where she had purchased her ticket to collect her winnings. 

The staff at Tesco informed her she had to contact Allwyn to claim her money. Allwyn took over from Camelot in 2024, and they are the legal National Lottery operator in the UK. 

Amelia was asked to produce pictures of the ticket’s back and front pictures, after which she was given a claim number and informed that an investigator would be visiting her home a few weeks later. 

Amelia felt intimidated and expressed her frustration following the incident. She has sworn never to buy lotto tickets again if getting her winning will subject her to such traumatising experiences. 

The mom of 3 has warned other players to refrain from buying lotto tickets to avoid going through the same disturbing experience. 

What the Lottery Operator Said 

According to Allwyn’s spokesperson, National Lottery winnings between £500 and £50,000 can no longer be collected from Post Offices. The new claims process requires players to verify their numbers, insisting that Amelia’s investigation was part of new safety procedures. These security checks are meant to ensure that Allwyn maintains the integrity of the National Lottery. 

There have been reports that several lottery scratchcard winners have had to wait more than a month before receiving their winnings. This depends on several factors, including if Allwyn needs any further information from players when processing their winnings and the period it takes to receive scratchcards or tickets from players. 

Allwyn maintains that all players are important, and they aim to offer players as positive an experience as possible. 

What Players Need to Receive Their Money 

Players must verify their numbers online or via phone to claim their winnings. They’ll then need to send their tickets by post for verification to receive their winnings. 

The verification process will require any punter claiming their money to produce an official ID and clear photographs of themselves. 

After the Post Office Limited ended its contract with the National Lottery, branch managers were given the choice of either signing up to sell the products or not. Allwyn reported that 900 out of 4,800 branches across the UK could no longer continue to sell scratchcards and lottery tickets. 

According to Allwyn, over 600 postmasters chose not to continue, citing religious beliefs and low ticket sales. 200 subpostmasters couldn’t sign up because of county court judgements.

Under the previous contract, the Post Office would cover the cost of the cards, but following the issuance of a new 10-year licence, individual shops will be required to pay for these tickets themselves. 

It’s reported that Post Office Limited terminated the contract because postmasters wanted 100% of ticket and scratchcard sales. Post Office Limited used to take a 1% commission from each National Lottery transaction. 

Conclusion 

It’s almost impossible to legally manipulate the UK Lottery system. Amelia has played the National Lottery since its inception, whereby she has been spending around £60 a week. 

According to her, she has kept the same set of numbers over the years, hoping that one day she would land a huge win. After investigation, Amelia is said to have claimed smaller prizes by matching 3 to 4 out of 5 numbers. 

Nonetheless, it’s not illegal to buy lottery tickets regularly or in bulk. Punters can buy as many tickets as they want as long as they do so legally and from authorised retailers.